Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-04-06
PROFIT IN WALNUTS.
Success in Growing Them
in this State.
THE GRENOBLE WALNUT.
A Slow Grower but Sure Success.
Experience with Growing the
Nut in This County.

The grape alone, or the peach,
almond, olive, orange or any of the
dozen fruits for which California is dis.
tinguished, would make foundation for
prosperity fin any of the Eastern States
The peach is the source OF the prosper.
ity of Delaware, the orange is Florida .
principal reliance, and SO nearly all
through the list Of States. California
alone seems to have the range of all
productions, everything, SO far as tried,
having proved a success. Even cotton
has become quite field crop in counties,
as tobacco has in others; and no doubt
If there were as much money in sugar
cane as in grapes or other fruit, some
enterprising man would capture few
thousand acres of some of our rich val.
leys and run serious opposition to
King Spreckels of Hawaii But though
the Sandwich Islands will raise sugar,
that is about all, while California seems
to have no limit to its productions.
NATIVE WALNUT.
Recently attention has been turned to
w
of revenue. Several varieties of walnut
have been found growing wild in the
counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura,
Contra Costra. Santa Clara tn} some
others. Some of them are mere shrubs;
others are thrifty trees, rivaling in size
and uuality of the timber their conquer
ors Of the Mississippi valley. The wal.
nut of Contra Costa has been trans.
planted to many parts of the State and
some of the trees are now three feet in
diameter with clean trunk twenty feet
or more in height. Some of the timber
has been worked at the Central Pacific
Railroad chops in Sacramento and found
to be much superior to the black walnut
of the East. In considering the plant
ing of the walnut family the value of
the timber should not be forgotten. The
native trees were planted at first fer the
nuts, but as they were interior to the
imported varieties not much value is
attached to them. Hundreds are grow.
ing along the roadside near San Jose.
THE ENGLISH WALNUT.
This is native of Germany and
France, and is not raised in England to
any extent. 1t came to be 80 called in
the United States because it was i'm.
ported by way Of England. The wood
is q corruption from 'wold" or "wood
nut" They are most plentiful around
Grenoble, in France; therefore it is
known in Europe as the Grenoble nut.
1t has come to California along with
other European products, and seems
likely to do as we'll here as the other i'm
ported trees. The fact that varieties of
the walnut family are growing wild
here is almost an assurance that any
variety will thrive with proper care.
SUCCESSFUL PLANTATIONS.
The Grenoble or English walnut has
not been exten.ively planted as yet
The largest number of bearing trees in
one body, that the writer has seen, is
that owned by the Hon. Russell Heath,
of Carpinteria, in Santa Barbara county.
This plantation covers about forty acres.
The trees are forty feet apart, about
twenty-eight trees to the acre, and for
some years have been yielding the owner
two hundred pounds of marketable nuts
to the tree.
Joseph Sexton, of Goleta, in the same
county, has smaller plantation equally
successfully. The writer is unable to
give the exact time of planting, but the
trees are all upwards of fifteen years of
age. Some years ago, Ellwood, Cooper,
Of the same county planted four thou.
sand trees, but they have not reached
the fall bearing period. The above de.
scribed orchards are planted on rich,
deep, alluvial soil. The growth has
been enormous, the limbs almost touch.
ing each other, though the trees are at
such great distance apart. Nothing
can be more stately or beautiful than a
walnut orchard twenty years old.
SLOW AND SURE.
It is forest tree and is slow in COM
ing into full bearing, though few nuts,
scattered through the long years of
growth, will assure the owner of the
quality of the fruit in the future. Very
many people, unused to the long years
of preparation, lose patience, dig up the
trees and plant something that will be
more Immediately remunerative. Per.
haps the better way would be to plant
the trees forty feet apart and others be
tween, making the walnut trees but one
fourth OF the number. Peach trees. for
instance, would become comparatively
old by the time the walnuts would want
the ground, and would be ready to
come out.
wALNUTS IN THIS COUNTY.
Quite O number of trees in the aggre-
gate are growing and bearing in this
county. Almost all of the older orchard
lists have few that bear the well.known
English walnut. There are perhaps
dozen places around Los Gatos where
they may be seen, among which are
those of Mr.. McMurtry. Mrs. Smith,
Mrs. Kennedy, Miss Ayers aud others.
The largest plantation is that of Mr..
Gish. who has about 400 trees fifteen
years old. They are growing well and